Cyberpedia CEO to headline COP31 Climate Summit for the Handshake Summit and Awards
ANTALYA, TÜRKIYE — A high-impact convening at the intersection of technology, capital, and global development is headed to the sidelines of COP31. The Handshake Summit & Awards — a spinoff of the influential 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York, and presented by Open Gov Hub, BudgIT, the Semafor Foundation, and ConcordeApp — previously convened founders, investors, diplomats, and policymakers at the Open Gov Hub during the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings.
This year, that convening expands to COP31, the 31st session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted by Türkiye — the highest-level forum where heads of state, scientists, and civil society negotiate the world’s collective response to climate change.
At the center of that expansion is Dr. Abiodun Sowemimo, CEO of Cyberpedia, who will headline the Handshake Summit & Awards’ COP31 program.
It caps a year defined by unusually wide-ranging engagement. Dr. Sowemimo met Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, describing the encounter as a reminder that “diligence, integrity, and innovation still matter.” He joined conversations at the World Economic Forum in China. He contributed at the UN General Assembly’s Digital Cooperation Day, convened by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, on a message he has carried across platforms: that no single country or institution can manage the pace of technological change alone. He addressed an audience at Cornell University, hosted by Vivacity PR. And in October, he’ll appear on CNN International’s stage in Bangkok for Global Perspectives, alongside world leaders and CEOs exploring a world in transition — ahead of his participation in the World Bank Annual Meetings, also in Thailand.
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Through it all, the throughline has been the same: technology has to do the work that diplomacy alone cannot.
“Climate diplomacy sets the direction. Technology has to do the work of getting us there,” said Dr. Sowemimo. “That’s what we’ve built at Cyberpedia’s Due Diligence Search Engine — a commitment to trusted data, stronger institutions, and a digital future built on integrity. It’s also why platforms like the Semaform Foundation’s Handshake Impact Engine for Climate Financing matter at COP31, and why we’re proud to support the Handshake Summit and Awards on the sidelines of COP31.”
“Every room Dr. Sowemimo walks into — Abuja, Beijing, New York, soon Antalya — carries the same question: can the people building the technology be trusted to build the institutions too?” said Chaste Inegbedion, Global Director and Communications Lead at Cyberpedia. “COP31 is where that question meets its highest stakes. We’re not just bringing a seat to the table — we’re bringing a case for how climate finance can move without leaving the world’s most vulnerable regions further into debt.”
The Handshake Summit & Awards will convene on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, continuing its focus on the NCQG and the mechanisms needed to move capital responsibly to the regions that need it most.
About Cyberpedia Internet Governance
Cyberpedia Internet Governance is an artificial intelligence (AI), data and cybersecurity corporation in Africa. Among the continent’s largest AI-powered real-time due diligence data search engine applications, Cyberpedia safeguards cybersecurity for accountability, compliance and verification purposes. Users leverage Cyberpedia’s advanced technology to identify individuals, organizations, entities and litigation in real time, allowing for efficient risk mitigation and compliance management. Its AI-powered due diligence search engine application offers capabilities to scan and remove malicious search results, social media posts or exposed private information on the internet, aiding in the fight against misinformation and disinformation and supporting digital and crisis management.
About the Handshake Summit & Awards
The Handshake Summit & Awards is hosted by the Semaform Foundation and ConcordeApp, supported by other partners, on the sidelines of global conferences to convene founders, investors, diplomats, and policymakers around the capital, technology, and partnerships needed to accelerate inclusive global development — from its origins alongside CSW70 in New York, to the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, to COP31 in Antalya.